Red Bull's Verstappen nears 4th straight F1 title after winning Brazilian Grand Prix under rain

SAO PAULO (AP) — Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took a major step toward securing his fourth straight F1 title by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, despite starting 17th, and increasing his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris with three more races remaining.

The Dutchman could secure the trophy in Las Vegas later this month. All he needs to do is to finish ahead of the McLaren driver. Other combinations could also secure the title for the 27-year-old.

In one of the best drives of his career, Verstappen overcame punishments before the race as well as the wet weather at Interlagos to earn his first victory since June, and his eighth Grand Prix win of the year. He won by almost 20 seconds and also clocked the fastest lap at Interlagos 17 times during the race to receive an extra point.

The Dutchman increased his lead from 44 to 62 points over Norris, who won Saturday's sprint race. Norris started in pole position but finished in a disappointing sixth position. He avoided losing more points in an investigation by stewards, who fined him and Mercedes' George Russell 5,000 euros ($5,440) for breaching the FIA’s start procedure.

Verstappen had been on course for a tough weekend in Sao Paulo. He received a five-place grid punishment after changing his engine for the sixth time in the season — the maximum allowed is four. He lost one point in Saturday's sprint race because of another penalty. And then his qualifying session earlier on Sunday was interrupted when he was 12th and trying to clock a fast lap to reach the final part of the session.

“My emotions today were a roller coaster,” Verstappen said after the race. “We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and we were flying.”

Verstappen said later at a press conference that winning in Brazil was “incredibly important” in his bid for a fourth title and that he had been expecting to see his overall lead reduced.

“It felt like I was driving a boat,” Verstappen joked. When asked about what he expects next, he said: “I just want clean races, that's all. I am not thinking about clinching the championship in Vegas or whatever.”

After the Las Vegas GP on Nov. 23, there are races in Qatar (Dec. 1) and Abu Dhabi (Dec. 8), with a combined total of 86 points available.

The two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, completed the podium. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started the race with a long shot at the drivers' title, finished fifth.

F1 governing body FIA had rescheduled the qualifying session for 7:30 a.m. local time (1030 GMT) Sunday after heavy rain on Saturday. The start of the Grand Prix was brought forward from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (1530 GMT), while many in the paddock still wondered whether the drivers would take their cockpits at all during the morning.

The tense race under rain in Sao Paulo had an aborted start when Aston Martin's Lance Stroll went off on the formation lap. Norris could not hold his first position in the first turn, losing it to Russell. The McLaren driver struggled until the end of the race to find his line under the rain, which Verstappen clearly managed to do from the start, finding grip where others couldn't in the inside of the track.

The big boost for Verstappen, and possibly a key moment in the drivers' championship, came when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg spun off in the 27th of 69 laps. A virtual safety car came in and many drivers chose to go to their pit lanes but Verstappen, Ocon and Gasly opted not to stop and the gamble paid off.

Five laps later, to the huge disappointment of about 10,000 Argentinian fans at Interlagos, Williams driver Franco Colapinto crashed. That meant a red flag, only minutes after leaders Russell and Norris had pitted. Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly changed their tires without losing their places, putting Norris under even bigger pressure to deliver.

“It was the right time to box,” Norris said after the race. “We were just unlucky.”

“I did all I could today. That’s all. Max won the race. Good on him, well done but it doesn’t change anything for me,” he added.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who finished 10th, also praised Verstappen's performance under rain in Sao Paulo.

“An amazing drive, congrats,” the seven-time champion said on Instagram.

Hulkenberg was disqualified after receiving a rare black flag before the restart because he had gotten assistance from marshals to return to the track.

The bumpy track at Interlagos was under fire from drivers, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso receiving treatment for back pains after the race.

Earlier, in the most emotional moment of the weekend at Interlagos, many fans on the stands cried when Hamilton drove the late Ayrton Senna’s title-winning car ahead of the race. The seven-time champion took some laps under falling rain in the historic McLaren MP4/5B that Senna drove during his 1990 title campaign, in which he beat Ferrari’s Alain Prost.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, celebrates on the podium his first place in the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, sprays champagne at the podium after winning the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, celebrates after winning the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, celebrates on the podium his first place in the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Max Verstappen, of Netherlands, steers his Red Bull during the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, center, talks with Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, right, and McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, left, celebrates his third place after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, left, celebrates his third place after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Pole position winner, McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, celebrates after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Pole position winner, McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, celebrates after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, celebrates his third place after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Pole position winner, McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, celebrates after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

First-place finisher McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, center, poses for a photo with second-place finisher Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, left, and third-place finisher RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan at the end of the qualifying session ahead to the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands walks on the track after the sprint race ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix auto race at the Interlagos racetrack in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain, left, talks with Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Thursday morning as U.S. markets reopened for trading after the Christmas holiday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2%. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 64 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%.

Big Tech stocks were among the biggest weights on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.8%. Google parent Alphabet fell 0.7% and Netflix gave up 0.9%. Meta Platforms was 1.1% lower.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported.

Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.59% late Tuesday.

Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar.

Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950.

So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation, a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade.

Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year.

AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.

FIL:E - The New York Stock Exchange is shown in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FIL:E - People photograph the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Lights marking the entrance to a subway station frame the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People walk in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader talks to another near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)